3080 Ti FE, coil whine

[Kangaroo Factory]

So I got a 3080 Ti. And it has coil whine. Best Buy return window ends next weekend.

 

I thought it was the power supply. It's a new RM850. So I swapped in a known RM1000. Still whined. So I swapped in my 2080Ti, and it had coil whine too, which was weird because I had never noticed this before. And I realized it was because it was in a closed case, whereas I built the new computer in a an open TT P3 wall mounted case. 

 

So I undervolted the 3080 Ti until it didn't bother me. 775mv and 1700mhz gets rid of 80% of the coil whine. I'm currently running it at 700mV at 1500Mhz. It gets rid of 95% of the coil whine, but what am I doing?

 

I watched a video where a guy said that coil whine was because of the design of the pcb and the capacitors used, and not so much a manufacturing defect, or the ugly end of the silicone lottery. So if I was to return this and get another 3080 Ti, I would probably just get more coil whine. And it seems like all high end, high power graphics cards are gonna have coil whine. Is that true?

 

And then he said, if you watercool it, it only gets worse; there is no fan noise to cover up the whine. And watercooling with hard tube is where this build is eventually going. Open and silent. I've set myself up for maximum coil whine.

 

And furthermore, since I bought the card, there is talk that the 4000 series is coming out in July, and I'm asking myself, what am I doing?

 

I feel like I should return this card. But on the other hand there is this nagging fear that something terrible could happen, i.e. a war in Taiwan. Crypto making a comeback. UFOs land and take all the new graphics cards.

 

Anyone have an opinion here? Will a 4080 have just as much coil whine as a 3080 Ti and be $2000?

[Shimejii]

High power cards are gonna have coil whine. Its not something thats avoidable, some cards fair better then others, sometimes you just get a very loud card with coil whine, some are milder, but there will always be coil whine. Thats why i always use a fairly large case, sound deadening the coil whine and other noise. You could always try placing it further away and a few other tricks, but its quite hard.

 

You could try isolating where you are hearing it specifically and try the putty method of just covering the parts if its just one or two, and just make sure their thermals dont go out of control.

[Kangaroo Factory]

I guess, but I'm going water cooled on a wall mounted P3, which is an open case.

 

I was checking last night, and I only lose 5% in the Cyberpunk77 benchmark at 1700mhz and 775mv.

 

I bet those 4000 series cards are gonna scream. Literally.

[EgoEverything]

I created an account specifically to reply to this, because ive been googling it looking into it. I just recently picked up a 3080 Ti Fe from best buy as well.. Only a few days ago. This thing has some ridiculously loud coil whine. So loud even my wife has complained about it, which has never happened before. For reference I've had 4 3080s, a 3070 Ti, and a 3060 Ti and none have whined like this card. Pretty disappointed. The card also a lot hotter than I'd like it to with 3 sl120s feeding it cool air from under it. I'm probably going to try and return it for an AIB 3080 ti and see if it performs any better. 

[Kangaroo Factory]

Following up.

The 3080 Ti FE coil whine was reduced by just playing games over the two week return period.

Undervolting the card was key. With speakers going, coil whine was barely perceptible in the most quiet moments.

If the 4080 wasn't coming out, if I didn't see the good deal on Amazon, I would have kept the card.

I ended up returning the card because I saw an Amazon warehouse deal for a ROG 3080 Ti Liquid Cooled for $1235. I'll see how that one performs. Who knows, it may be DOA.

I went back and forth on returning the 3080 Ti, getting an LC 3080 Ti or just sticking with my 2080Ti and seeing what the 4080 brings.